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Hollywood Chinese

I watched a great documentary on PBS the other night called Hollywood Chinese.

The 90-minute film illuminates a century of Chinese American cinematic history, from rare silent classics such as Marion Wong’s The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916) to the contemporary critical and commercial success of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (2005).

Learning about the early history of Chinese Americans in Hollywood was quite fascinating. Their struggles were unique but similar to other minority filmmakers of that time. In the beginning Chinese characters weren't played by Chinese actors, instead white actors did "Yellow Face" and often portrayed them in over exaggerated stereotypical ways. In the 1960s, Flower Drum Song came out, one of the first films that opted to explore the dichotomy between Chinese Americans and recent Chinese immigrants (at least as much as a musical can do). I haven't seen the movie yet but it's on my list! Here's the trailer:

Nancy Kwan was the star of Flower Drum Song and she gave a lot of insightful commentary about the industry in that era.

Bottom line, it's a must-see documentary. Check out PBS.org for more info.

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